GHOST STORIES OF BOULDER CREEK​

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Big Basin State Park

Established in 1902, Big Basin is the oldest state park in all of California. The historical 18,000 acre park contains “eerie vibes”, or energy in certain areas.

Within Big Basin is a 60-foot waterfall which is named after an old pioneer and hermit, Tilford George Berry. One of the very first settlers in the region, Berry had a cabin close by which he had built in the 1860’s.

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One day after years of being a recluse, the former lush and sawmill worker decided to sell his property and move back to Indiana. He found a buyer and headed toward the summit on his friend’s wagon to finish the deal.

“Two weeks later, Berry reappeared on foot in Boulder Creek; exhausted, disheveled, beaten down by cruel fate. The old demons had resurfaced. After accepting payment for his land, Berry had returned to the drink and gambled away his entire grubstake. There would be no returning to Indiana with his dignity restored. He was baffled, demoralized … ruined. Berry collected his rifle in Boulder Creek and without a word, disappeared in the direction of Big Basin; never to be seen again.” -Ryan Masters, Sempervirens.org

About twenty-five years later, a local man was walking through Big Basin and found Tilford Berry’s remains next to the waterfall.

“Breaking his way through low chaparral brush, he came upon an open rocky slope and there before him lay the perfect skeleton of a human being and beside it lay the old Berry rifle, metal corroded and stock decayed. Through the skull was the path of a bullet.” – Santa Cruz Sentinel, May 3, 1938.

It is believed that Berry had taken his life just minutes after he was seen in town.

Legend has it that the old pioneer haunts Berry Creek Falls; and that if you stare into the waterfall long enough, you’ll see the forlorn ghost of the gambling hermit Tilford George Berry gazing back at you.

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Additional Information:

- It is claimed that in the 1920s an employee died at the park, and she is said to now haunt the little cabin (used as an employee residence) that is located next to Big Basin’s museum, gift shop, and general store.

Big Basin State Park

BIG BASIN REDWOODS STATE PARK

Historical Landmark

Year established: 1902

21600 Big Basin Way

Boulder Creek, CA 95006

(831) 338-8861

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Boulder Creek Cemetery

The Boulder Creek Cemetery (I.O.O.F. Cemetery) has its share of paranormal activity. Dark shadow people have been seen meandering late at night in the eerie cemetery on occasion, EVPs have been caught, and rapid and drastic temperature fluctuations have been noticed.

Boulder Creek I.O.O.F. Cemetery Investigation:

November 20, 2011

As local sensitive Mel U. and I walked into the Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F) Cemetery, I felt a cold breeze hit me; as I listened to the dead leaves crunch and the gravel move beneath our feet. As we approached a bench in the graveyard, the Mel Meter, a device that measures EMF and temperature, began to jump from zero to three and then back down from two to one, and finally to zero again. (Note: For more information on how a Mel Meter or Milometer works, see the glossary.) Seconds later the K-2 Meter started to spike as well.

“If there is anyone here, can you please make the meter light up again?” I asked.

The device immediately spiked again.

The Mel Meter’s readings showed the temperature drop from fifty- eight degrees to forty-eight degrees in less than two minutes.

“Do you need help?” I asked.

The dowsing rods crossed for “Yes.”

After asking a series of questions and receiving more answers, the ghost gradually stopped communicating. By that time, the sun was down and it was completely dark out. We wondered if maybe the spirit had stopped communicating due to the change in the time of day. Many ghost hunters and researchers have found that sunset is one of the best times to communicate with the dead. They are known to have more energy then.

I started to feel a spider web sensation on my face and from the corner of my eye; and saw a large multi-colored orb floating near the gravesite we were walking toward.

We went to the next tombstone that Mel felt drawn to. It was a little girl’s grave by the name of Constance Austin, dated 1884 to 1887. Mel held out the K-2 Meter and asked if the spirit whose gravesite we were standing near could make the device light up. Not a moment later, it did just that. The Mel Meter also spiked at the same time and the temperature fluctuated within a second from forty-three to forty-seven degrees in a mere second. “If that’s you playing with the temperature gage, can you do it again?” Mel asked. Immediately following Mel’s question, the temperature fluctuated once again. For those of you who are unaware, fast and/or vast temperature change is believed by some to be connected with the paranormal.

We laid the flashlight down in front of the grave. A couple minutes later it was turned on by an unseen force. It was turned off about ten seconds later. “Was that you?” Mel asked. “Are you here? Can you please turn the flashlight on again?” Once more, the flashlight turned on and then off again. We tried communicating with Constance for almost thirty minutes, but because of her age, it was difficult. The flashlight turned on and off on its own sporadically, the K-2 Meter spiking at the same times. The Mel Meter started rising to a nine when we began to pack up, and stayed at an eight, until we were about to leave the site. As we walked out of the Boulder Creek Cemetery, the Ghost Radar said “Leaving.”

Boulder Creek Cemetery

BOULDER CREEK CEMETERY

(AKA I.O.O.F. Cemetery)

Year established: Circa 1862

Harman Street

Boulder Creek, CA 95006

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Joe's Bar

Old deceased patrons still visit and occupy their favorite haunt at Joe’s Bar in downtown Boulder Creek. I first found out about the spirits at Joe’s while stopping in one day in 2016, for a rare afternoon cocktail. As soon as I sat down at the bar, I felt spiritual energy and sensed something was watching me from the vicinity near the bathrooms.

“Is this place haunted?” I asked the bartender.

“I have heard it is … by old customers,” she said with a smile.

A few months later I went back to Joe’s Bar and spoke to another bartender who knew a little more information.

“Have you gone into the basement here yet?” She asked me.

“No, I haven’t,” I replied. “Is that were one of the ghosts hangs out?”

“Yes,” she said. “And it’s creepy … would you like to come see?” she asked.

“Oh yes please!” I said. “I’d love to, thanks.”

As we began walking down the stairs into the dark basement I felt the energy get heavier and heavier. I began sensing a masculine energy that was annoyed that we were down there. The bartender pointed over to where the ghost is believed to hang out, which was directly below the vicinity near the bathrooms, where I had first sensed something upon arrival.

“Oh how funny,” I began. “Right above that area upstairs is where I first felt him.”

“Yeah, he’s here.” She announced.

“I’m not sure if he wants us down here though, it feels like he thinks we’re invading his space,” I shared.

As we walked back up the stairs I felt the energy then get lighter with each step.

Local psychic Shelly Crowley has seen what she believes to be the ghosts of three old customers that hang out near the bar's front window.

The White Cockade

Deep in the woods of Boulder Creek sits the late White Cockade Scottish Pub. Built in 1930, the pub was known to be haunted by its first owner Barbara Stanford. This haunted pub was so eerie that some customers were known to come once and never go back again. The latest owner claimed that one customer actually screamed in fright and ran out of the building after experiencing paranormal activity within the walls of the old hostelry. Many witnesses have said they saw Barbara’s pale ghost in and around the pub when it was in operation.

In 2006, after her uncanny supernatural experience, Nancy Palajac was convinced that Barbara’s spirit was trying to communicate. Nancy found the garland she had recently mounted on the floor with the tacks neatly stacked on a chair. Psychics say she’s harmless and protective of the place, though she was known to be quiet the prankster. When there was an annoying customer at the pub, sometimes their bar stool would suddenly slip out from under them.

Additional Information:

- Some say the Pub was being shared by ghosts. Another spirit that some believe resided there was a logger named Ben, who died in the 1980s.

- Lights and stove burners were known to turn off and on by themselves.

- Footsteps were heard in unoccupied rooms followed by Barbara Stanford’s apparition.